Change Your Mind
by Prone To Obsession
Summary: The events of Revolution between "Looks like you could use a ride home" and "I'm not leaving!". One sign and a ride home was not enough to make Kat change her mind about Patrick Verona.
1. To Take You Home

**Summary: The events of "Revolution" between "Looks like you could use a ride home" and "I'm not leaving!". One sign and a ride home was not enough to make Kat change her mind about Patrick Verona.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned 10 Things I Hate About You, I would never have let it be cancelled. Clearly, I do not own it, or the characters, or the...anything. Ooh, I do have the 10th Anniversary Edition of the movie though. But that doesn't really entitle me to much. So please don't sue me.**

**A/N: In keeping with the theme of the show, all my chapter titles will be song titles as well! This isn't going to be long, but I'm going to break it up into a few chapters.**

Just because Patrick did something nice for her, it didn't just make all the reasons for their break-up disappear. And when they got to Kat's house, she told him just that. He looked angry for a second, but then let out a sigh.

"First of all, you're welcome for the ride." He started sarcastically. Then, with a softer voice, "Secondly...I didn't mean what I said that night. I mean, it just came out the wrong way. You're not a sex object to me. I mean," he corrected himself with a grin, "not _just_ a sex object." He laughed nervously, hoping she wasn't going to go ballistic on him again. Thankfully, she was just too exhausted from the day's events to put up any kind of fight.

"I know," she said simply. "And for what it's worth," she added with a nod, "I'm sorry I freaked out about it. I just don't like...feeling...like I'm being used."

Patrick nodded silently. He would never use her, he wanted to say. He wanted to say he cared too much about her to use her—that he cared more about her than he had ever cared for a girl. But the words weren't exactly rolling off the tongue. He barely admitted those things in his head; there was no way he could do it aloud. But, Kat, like she usually did, seemed to understand exactly what it was he couldn't say. She reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a soft kiss.

As they parted, Kat smiled at Patrick, then nodded to her house. "My dad's gone for the weekend. Wanna come in and...hang out for a while?"

Patrick raised his eyebrows, "I'm not gonna say no to that."

Kat quickly corrected his impressions, "I am not going to have sex with you just because we made up and my dad's not home," she said, matter-of-factly.

Patrick nodded, "Duly noted. But...we can still make out, right?"

In answer, Kat grabbed his jacket and pulled him close for another kiss, this one deep and lingering. When they finally pulled apart, she whispered, a little out of breath, "Come in through the window. I don't need Bianca black-mailing me with the fact that I'm sneaking around with you while dad's out of town."

**End Note: So, this was short. Hopefully the next part will be longer. This is my first 10 Things fic, so I hope I'm not too out of character. Please review whether or not you liked it (no flames please; be constructive with your criticism!).**


	2. About A Girl

**Summary: The events of "Revolution" between "Looks like you could use a ride home" and "I'm not leaving!". One sign and a ride home was not enough to make Kat change her mind about Patrick Verona.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned 10 Things I Hate About You, I would never have let it be cancelled. Clearly, I do not own it, or the characters, or the...anything. Ooh, I do have the 10th Anniversary Edition of the movie though. But that doesn't really entitle me to much. So please don't sue me.**

**A/N: Thanks to those who have reviewed so far. I think after this one, there may be one more chapter left, but we'll see...**

Patrick had missed Kat's room. From the British flag above her bed to the family pictures scattered across the walls, the room was so undeniably _Kat. _He beat her upstairs (she had probably gotten stopped by Bianca on the way up), so he took the time to kick off his shoes, relax on her bed, and take in the surroundings. There were a few little changes since the last time he was here. A new poster hung on her closet door, a couple of pictures Patrick had never seen were stuck in the frame of her mirror.

"Sorry I took so long," Kat interrupted his musings as she closed the door behind her. "Bianca insisted I needed to talk about today."

"She's just trying to be nice."

"She chooses really inopportune moments for that, doesn't she?" Kat moved closer to Patrick as he sat up on the bed and she settled in next to him. Hesitant, she asked, "Can we talk?"

"I'm confused as to what we were doing two seconds ago."

She sat up so she was facing him. "I mean really talk."

"I...was promised making out, not conversation." Kat glared at him, so he resigned. "Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, I mean, not that it matters. We were broken up," Patrick winced as she repeated the words that had made him feel like he was being eviscerated. She continued, "so it's not like I'd be mad or anything. But..." her voice faltered for a minute, then the last few words came rushing out all at once, "did you go on two dates with Lexie Greenberg and make out with her?"

Patrick's eyebrow shot up and he gave her a look like she had gone insane. "What are you talking about?"

"Did you make out with Lexie? I won't be mad. I'm just..." she shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, "I'm just curious."

"No—no! Why would you even think that?"

"I saw you talking to her last week, she did the hair-flip-slash-arm-squeeze," Kat demonstrated what she had seen as she continued, "Bianca said that means two dates plus making out."

Patrick's furrowed brow disappeared as he broke into a grin. "I'm sorry, did you just tell me that you got advice from _Bianca? _No offense, I know she's you're sister and all, but if she told you that, she's an idiot."

"So...that's a no?"

"No!" He tried to think why he would even be talking to Lexie. They weren't exactly friends. Finally he realized when it was, "We're lab partners for biology. We were discussing the fact that neither of us had the slightest intention of finishing the project we're supposed to do."

"Then why was she so flirty?"

"She's Lexie Greenberg. She flirts with anything. She gave her number to _Spoink_ for god's sake!" Patrick laughed.

Kat crinkled her nose, then joined in Patrick's laughter. "You're right. Bianca's an idiot. Remind me not to take dating advice from her...ever again."

"So, you were spying on me, huh? I knew you missed me."

Kat gave him a withering look. "Please, don't flatter yourself. I just happened to notice...purely accidentally."

"Uh-huh," he said, unconvinced, "Sure. And it sure hasn't been eating you up inside ever since."

Kat honestly had nothing to say to that, so instead she got up and put on a CD. As she settled back onto the bed, Patrick leaned over and exercised his right (as promised) to a little make-out time.


	3. Misunderstanding

**Summary: The events of "Revolution" between "Looks like you could use a ride home" and "I'm not leaving!". One sign and a ride home was not enough to make Kat change her mind about Patrick Verona.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned 10 Things I Hate About You, I would never have let it be cancelled. Clearly, I do not own it, or the characters, or the...anything. Ooh, I do have the 10th Anniversary Edition of the movie though. But that doesn't really entitle me to much. So please don't sue me.**

**A/N: Okay, after _this_ chapter, there's one more left! Haha. I feel like I could make that afternoon stretch on indefinitely, but I won't. Thanks to h3yyy0u for inspiring this chapter!**

Kat's hands were tangled in Patrick's hair; his hands were on the small of her back, frantically pulling her closer to him. It had been two weeks since their fight in the back of Keith's van, and he never knew he could miss anyone so much. As his lips explored the nape of Kat's neck, Patrick inhaled the scent of her organic eco-friendly lavender shampoo. How was it possible to miss _shampoo_?

"Patrick..." Kat moaned in between fevered kisses, "let's...never...break up...again."

Patrick stopped and pulled away. She looked at him expectantly. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing."

She cocked her head to the side. She knew something was wrong. "Come on, what's the matter?"

"Nothing! I just...let's just take it slow. You were pretty clear you don't want this to go too far." What he said was partially true at least. While he was enjoying the closeness of the afternoon, he didn't want to rush Kat into something she wasn't ready for. Especially after what happened the last time they planned to 'consummate' as Kat put it. But that wasn't why he had pulled away, and Kat knew it.

"Patrick..." Kat's voice trailed off. She didn't want to force him to talk about it. They'd just end up in a fight and she really didn't want to argue after the long day she had. "You're right. I'm going to get something to drink. You want anything?" He shook his head.

As she closed the door behind her, Patrick slid off the bed onto the floor, resting his head against the wall and letting out a huge breath.

_Just because we broke up, doesn't mean we can't be civil. _The words rang in his head from the first time Kat had said aloud that they were broken up. He bent his knees and rested his arms on top of them, letting his hands hang limp.

That was how Kat found him when she came back. She handed him a coke, which he accepted despite the fact that he told her he didn't want anything. She took a sip of her water as she sat on the floor across from him, legs crossed. She didn't say a word.

"I never really considered us broken up," Patrick said at last, "until you said it the other day."

Kat let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Silent, she scooted across the floor until she was sitting next to Patrick, her back against the wall. She reached out and took his hand as he continued, voice soft and low, "I mean, we fight at least three times a week. I just figured you needed time to cool off."

"What you said really hurt me."

"Okay, so I suck at saying how I feel. You should know that about me by now."

"And you should know that you can't treat me like a piece of meat."

Patrick turned his head so he was looking right into Kat's eyes. "I would _never_ treat you like a piece of meat. Not even like a soydog or a veggie-burger." Kat gave a small smile. Patrick leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"I think I know that now," Kat said at last. She did; Patrick wasn't the sort of guy who would stick around and put up with all her craziness just in the hopes of getting in her pants. After another minute of silence, she added, "I'm sorry. You know, you were so opposed to the idea of us 'officially dating'. I never thought it'd upset you to know we were 'officially broken up'."

Patrick chuckled, "Well, I guess I just got used to having your special brand of crazy in my life." Kat smacked his chest, then lay her head on his shoulder, and the pair just sat in silence, glad to have some of their issues out in the open.

**End Note: This was another short chapter. Sorry!**


	4. Giant Strides

**Summary: The events of "Revolution" between "Looks like you could use a ride home" and "I'm not leaving!". One sign and a ride home was not enough to make Kat change her mind about Patrick Verona.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned 10 Things I Hate About You, I would never have let it be cancelled. Clearly, I do not own it, or the characters, or the...anything. Ooh, I do have the 10th Anniversary Edition of the movie though. But that doesn't really entitle me to much. So please don't sue me.**

**A/N: Well here it is, the finale. I've already started on a sequel, if anyone's interested! :) The first chapter should be up pretty soon. I'm not a big fan of how this chapter turned out; but I can't seem to get it right, so it is what it is. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted, read, favorited, and so on. It means a lot and keeps me motivated to write more!**

After their talk, Kat and Patrick lapsed into a comfortable quietness, just enjoying hanging out and being...together again. Patrick had found his way back to the bed. He was lying on his stomach, elbows propping him up, idly flipping through one of Kat's National Geographic magazines, which was lying open on the pillow. Kat was still on the floor, legs crossed, with a book in her lap which she was pretending to read. In reality, she was watching Patrick. His reaction to the word "break up" had shocked her. It made her think that he was more serious about their relationship than she first believed. Looking at him, she also realized how much she had missed him. His hair; his lips; the way he crinkled his eyebrows when he was deep in thought; the playful grin he would get when he was about to tease her—the kind of grin he had on as she sat and watched him.

"You really are obsessed with me, aren't you?" he laughed, turning his head to watch her staring at him.

"Hmm?" She muttered, whipping her head down, trying to act as if she were wholly engrossed in her book. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"Yeah, I asked if you know that you're reading upside down."

Kat's face turned red as she sheepishly turned the book right-side up.

"I think it's cute that you're _still_ so obsessed with me, even after all these months," Patrick continued.

"Careful with that head of yours," Kat muttered, "If it gets too big, it won't fit back through the window when I kick you out."

"Ah, you'd miss me too much if you kicked me out. Me and my ego both." He sat up, pulling the pillow with him and tossing it playfully at Kat. "Besides," he continued, "If I leave, who's going to help you plan your revenge?"

Kat looked at him quizzically. He gave her a _duh_ face. "On William Blankenshit," he explained, putting on a fake accent and deliberately mispronouncing the last name.

"Oh," Kat shook her head. She had been having such a nice afternoon with Patrick, she had almost forgotten how horribly it started. "No. I mean, don't get me wrong, I will have my revenge. But, I'm not sure Blank's the one I should be getting revenge on."

"You're kidding, right?"

She shook her head again. "No. I mean, he wouldn't have even _known_ about that tape unless someone gave it to him. He may not be entirely innocent, but he's definitely not the mastermind."

"Then who is?"

"My guess is Tabitha."

Patrick thought about it for a minute, then nodded. "Okay, I can see that. She's totally drunk with power, and she doesn't even _have_ any power."

"Right. And she was pretty pissed when I blew off her speech. I bet she was angry enough to go running to Blank."

"Okay, so what are you going to do?"

Kat sighed and got up off the floor. "I don't know," she said. "I don't even care right now." She lay on the bed next to Patrick, letting her head rest on his chest. "We have all week to think about it; we won't have to deal with her until after spring break. For now, let's just enjoy the week together." Though she couldn't see him, Patrick was smiling.

"I like it when you say that," he growled.

Kat rolled onto her side, propping herself up on one elbow, staring into his dark eyes. God, she wanted him. "When I say what?" she breathed.

"We..." he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Us..." he kissed her other cheek. "Together..." as Patrick pressed his lips to hers, Kat knew that all those walls she had spent the last few weeks building—especially since her freak out in Keith's van—all those walls were coming down—fast.

Looking back later, Kat would remember her last (semi-)rational thought being a line from a movie (one of the few teen movies she could stomach).

_I didn't want any problems. So I decided not to sleep with him...but then I attacked him anyway._

She wondered, briefly, if that excuse would work (if, God forbid, her father ever found out).

"Well, that was fun," Patrick smiled, his hand resting lightly on Kat's hip. He couldn't seem to stop smiling, a feeling he had never really experienced before.

"Eh," Kat shrugged jokingly, making him laugh.

"This is like a record for us," he realized, "We haven't gotten in one single fight." He was still smiling.

"See, this is what the world needs, more sex, less war."

"Now if that had been your campaign slogan, you would have won." Kat giggled at Patrick's words, making his smile grow even bigger.

_I love Kat Stratford_, he thought. It was the first time he had consciously let himself think those words. _I am in love with Kat Stratford. _He leaned over, giving her a gentle kiss. He knew he loved her, there was no denying it anymore, but he didn't think he could say those words. Not in that way; it was too weird, too cliché, too...personal.

Suddenly, Kat interrupted his thoughts. They were both laying on their sides, facing each other, but now Kat propped herself half-way up, leaning on her elbow. "Can I ask you a favor?"

Patrick mirrored her position, his voice catching in his throat as he grunted, "Uh-huh,"

"Don't break my heart, okay?"

Patrick nodded, "Okay...Can I ask you a favor?" He knew what he should say. Well, he knew what he _could_ say, which was almost as good as what he _should_ say.

"What is it?" Kat asked.

_When I do work up the nerve to say I love you, please say it back._ That's what Patrick was about to say. Before he could, though, Kat's dad burst into the room, and Patrick's smile, along with all thoughts of love, vanished. He let his body fall back to the bad, burying his face in a pillow. He decided a better favor to ask might be _please don't let your dad murder me._

**End Note: Hopefully that wasn't too terrible of a chapter! The sequel, with the events following the end of the series, will be posted as soon as I finish going over the first few chapters! Please review and let me know what you thought of this story!**


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